The District Department of Employment Services reports that the jobless rate in the District of Columbia decreased by a tenth of a percentage point in October to 9.7 percent, the fifth straight month that D.C.’s unemployment rate has decreased. The slight drop nearly levels the District’s unemployment rate with the national rate, which now sits at 9.6 percent. On the whole, total jobs are up 2.9 percent point last year — though experts believe that the District rate’s minimization is, at least in part, due to people ceasing their search for work and no longer being counted in the labor force.